The invention relates to a side member support for the front part of a self-supporting motor vehicle bodywork.
The invention specifically relates to a side member support for the front part of a self-supporting motor vehicle bodywork, having a floor panel comprising a tunnel and, on each side, front side members which are formed from side member panels and which have a box-type section and which are each divided in the region of the dashboard or the front part of the floor panel into two bifurcate side member arms. These arms, in conjunction with the floor panel, form box-type sections. The side member arm towards the inside of the vehicle adjoins the vehicle tunnel, and the side member arm towards the outside of the vehicle adjoins the sill. A support of this type is known from the German Pat. No. 24 08 548.
In the case of the known side member support, as shown in particular in FIG. 4 of the German patent specification, the front side member component is formed by two side member panels which are connected together and which terminate in the region of the dashboard or the front floor panel component. The two bifurcate side member arms which form sections in conjunction with the floor panel box are formed by adjacent, separate side member arm panels.
The known side member support thus has the disadvantage that a continuous energy flow is not produced by forces initiated by a frontal collision, since the welding connection areas between the front side member support and the bifurcate side member arms form an interfering interruption in the load path. In addition, the known side member support has the further disadvantage arising from the way in which the side member arms towards the inside of the vehicle are positioned closely adjacent in the vehicle tunnel. Because of this positioning this tunnel must be made correspondingly high in order to receive the necessary components, such as the change-gear transmission and the cardan shaft.
A side member support for the front part of a self-supporting motor vehicle bodywork of similar type is known from the German Pat. No. 27 25 083. In this known side member support a front side member is likewise formed from side member panels. One of the side member panels extends obliquely over the forward region of the floor panel, while additional side member arm panels which adjoin the front side member, form bifurcate side member arms. The side member arm towards the interior of the vehicle adjoins the vehicle tunnel and the side member arm towards the outside of the vehicle adjoins the door pillar of the A-column.
The known side member support has the advantage over the first-mentioned known side member support in that at least one side member panel extends to a position below the forward region of the floor panel. It has the disadvantage, however, that the welding connections which adversely affect the energy flow are again necessary for the additional bifurcate side member arms.
A front part of a self-supporting motor vehicle bodywork is known from the German Offenlegungsschrift (Laid-Open Specification) No. 30 47 031, in which front side members are formed by a side member panel and a web panel supplementing the latter. The front side members extend only a short distance towards the front region of the floor panel and are joined together there by a side member connection plate.
This known arrangement has the disadvantage that, on account of the projection of the side member panel, the web panel and the side member connection plate project to approximately one level; and in the event of a frontal collision a certain hinge action can occur in this region.